Basic skin cleansing compositions have been long addressed by the personal care industry. The consumer population is looking for additional benefit beyond basic skin cleansing which now includes germ as well as soil removal. Recently, intensified focus has been directed to the spread of germs from touching various objects in public use such as an ATM machine, public phones, public restrooms, the gym and the like. New compositions which fight germs have recently been marketed. However, many of these products use high quantities of alcohol to accomplish the degerming of the skin. These products are directed to eliminating pre-existing germs present in the skin prior to treatment. Therefore, a need exists for obtaining a longer lasting "antigerm" effect with a cleansing composition normally employed as a rinse-off product which inhibits the further attachment of germs to the skin following the rinse off process.
Such a product should not be restricted to having activity against only one or a small number of germs which can be present on the skin. It should be readily applicable to a large number of germs, regardless of their gram negative or gram positive nature or whatever type of classification system under which they may be categorized. A few compositions with active agents seem to work by stopping the attachment of specific germs to the skin. However, compositions containing these agents are disclosed to be germ specific to only one or a small number of germs.
It has now been discovered that a relatively simple rinse off skin cleansing composition has the ability to inhibit the attachment of germs to the skin for a significant period of time after rinsing the skin. A broad spectrum of germs can be inhibited. In this manner a standard rinse off skin cleansing composition provides a desired benefit to the everyday skin washing population. Additionally, it can provide a meaningful benefit to those individuals whose skin is in particular need to have diminished levels of germs thereon, for example those people suffering from atopic dermatitis, psoriasis, immunodeficient conditions and the like.
A further advantage of the composition is that germs which are present, can be more readily removed from the skin by rinsing with water after treatment of the skin with the composition of the invention. This occurs for a period of time after the initial rinse-off of the composition has occurred.